Wayanad: Children who don’t want to go to school without their friends, families endlessly waiting for the remains of their loved ones, and many who do not wish to return to their native land are among the survivors of the landslide tragedy in Kerala’s Wayanad.
The counsellors’ teams in each of Wayanad’s relief camps where the landslide- and flood-displaced are seeking temporary shelter have a humongous task — to provide relief to a population that just managed to survive a natural calamity.
The landslides that struck on Thursday so far have claimed 360 lives, with bodies still buried under the debris in Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Attamala, where rescue operations are ongoing.
“We are focusing on giving psychological first-aid at present. Now, they need someone to listen to them. We don’t even introduce ourselves. We only try to be there for them,” Anjana Gireesh, a psycho-social counsellor at the relief camp set up in St Joseph’s UP School in the Meppadi panchayat area, told ThePrint.
One of the 10 counsellors deployed at the camp under the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP), Anjana said that she has noticed a slight improvement in the survivors’ mental health since the first day. The camp has a total of 249 people, including 56 children.
According to the health department, 121 mental health professionals, including counsellors, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists, are deployed across the nine relief camps in Meppadi.
Besides visiting the affected at the camps, the teams are reaching out to survivors living in their relatives’ houses in Wayanad. The health department has also set up a mental health help desk in each camp.
“Initially, the children and the elders of families were not coming out to meet. They could only grieve or cry. But now, they are showing up, so participation has improved. They smile too when they see us,” Anjana said.
The elders are now asking volunteers if they can help at the camp’s kitchen with cutting vegetables, etc., she said. “There are many who are still not getting deep sleep. If anyone wakes up in the middle of the night, we go and talk to that person.”
At the camp, counsellors are available 24 hours, she said.
Nimitha Antony, a member of the psycho-social team at the camp set up in the Government Lower Primary School in Meppadi, said the team is giving special attention to high-priority cases, children, pregnant women, and the lone survivors of families.
“It’s not the right time to start proper counselling as the rescue operations aren’t even complete. We are here to show support and make them feel they are not alone,” she said.
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‘We need a long-term plan’
Nimitha said that the counsellors are also in touch with survivors who have contacted them in person or through the toll-free helpline.
“Volunteers to journalists, the camps are seeing visitors day and night. Amid all this, they (survivors) can not express their grief at times. But, sometimes, they vent out and cry.”
She said that the teams will refer survivors to psychiatrists or other medical teams if they need assistance going ahead. Nimitha said the teams are planning a long-term strategy to help the survivors.
“Now, they are getting attention, but we need a long-term plan. So far, we do not know where the government will rehabilitate them or anything else about their future. But, we need to provide them mental health assistance for a long period,” Anjana said.
From setting up a recreational area for the children to holding peer group activities for the teenagers, the psycho-social teams have been approaching the different age groups among the survivors in unique ways.
At the St Joseph’s school camp, the counsellors have set up a children’s area, where children can play board games such as chess and carrom.
“The children were listening in on the elders talking about the tragedy and mounting death toll, so we set up the play area,” Anjana said.
She said the children at the camp spend entire days with the counsellors, participating in activities. For teenagers, she said, the teams are now focusing on peer group activities.
“Sometimes, we invite their friends from outside. But mostly, we try to get them acquainted with each other,” she said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also read: Wayanad landslides—those who heeded warnings and relocated are among the few who survived